Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

phild wrote:Hmm testing in the Kimberleys, not all beer and skittles, I'll swap you jobs for a month....

My rack has arrived, hopefully will be assemble and test tomorrow, I'll post a pic of the completed install.

Thanks to George for your advice and prompt service, nice Kimberley Karavan you have there BTW, is it yours or a loaner?

Great to hear the carrier arrived Phil. I'm still around if you have questions. Everyone else has taken off and I'm here alone still getting orders out. You cannot begin to imagine just how frustrating this is.

I was serious about the trip being a bit of a burden. We have to travel along tracks that I don't particularly enjoy in order to get the sustained loads and vibrations happening in addition to lots of direct sunlight on new rubbers we have had developed. I don't know anyone who would say that the thousand kms of the Tanami to Halls Creek is anything but a chore. We're over the Kimberleys in winter too. The mood will brighten once we're in the Gulf though.

Yeah we purchased that van late last year. It's quite nice and a great base to explore from. Plenty of different options out there and quite a few new players in this part of the market that we have been engaged to develop product for. It's good for business but the passion is still for travelling light and unencumbered into the rough and tough. That's where the riding, driving and adventure is the most rewarding.

i am in the market for a bike carrier atm & i am thinking your bike carrier goes under the toe ball yes ? also can you leave the attached part to the toe ball & remove the rest & still tow a trailer or do you need to remove all the unit ?

cheers Allan

bollo wrote:i am in the market for a bike carrier atm & i am thinking your bike carrier goes under the toe ball yes ? also can you leave the attached part to the toe ball & remove the rest & still tow a trailer or do you need to remove all the unit ?

cheers Allan

I have the Town & Country model, which is Tow Ball mounted. You can remove the rack by simply removing two pins. but if you want to tow anything you have to remove the coupling from the tow ball.

I have a Hayman Reese hitch and just bought a second tongue and ball, so it makes it easy.

Graeme

Been following this thread as I just got a new Mitsubishi Outlander and getting a towbar fitted soon, (unfortunately can't get a strap-on bike carrier to suit my car).

Don't want to spend a fortune as I'll only use it occasionally, mostly for our 2 x MTB's, but I also have a carbon roadie.

What about these two options, I think the Torpedo 7 could be OK?

Cheers guys
CJ

http://www.cyclingdeal.com.au/buy/2-bic ... ar/CB-640A

http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/T7C ... annel-rack

the forst link looks ok but i don't have that style of tow bar

You may find they stick straight out from the tow bar and if so, they may sit pretty low.

This may or may not be a problem, for me it was, because I have a sloping driveway and they would bottom out. I also wanted something that had clearance when I went off the bitumen and having it angled upwards kept it away from rocks etc thrown up from the tires.




Graeme

GraemeL wrote:You may find they stick straight out from the tow bar and if so, they may sit pretty low.

This may or may not be a problem, for me it was, because I have a sloping driveway and they would bottom out.Graeme

Thanks for the tip Graeme, I too have a sloping driveway. Will check the clearance.

Cheers
CJ

after being lent a thule from my LBS i really can't go past them just got to get over the price , but in this day & age you get what you pay for

bollo wrote:after being lent a thule from my LBS i really can't go past them just got to get over the price , but in this day & age you get what you pay for

An excellent choice - my Thule is the most functional and convenient rack I've owned. When folded it is flat and compact, easily carried in the boot. It locks on to the towball with a mere flick of a lever. The rubber cups cradle my carbon fibre framed bikes gently but securely, and absorb road shock and vibration. The twin arms bear the load evenly so the frame is unstressed. It's worth every cent I paid for it.

cjrich wrote:

GraemeL wrote:You may find they stick straight out from the tow bar and if so, they may sit pretty low.

This may or may not be a problem, for me it was, because I have a sloping driveway and they would bottom out.Graeme

Thanks for the tip Graeme, I too have a sloping driveway. Will check the clearance.

Cheers
CJ

I know you said you didn't want to pay a fortune and I was like you, I wasn't sure if it would get the use to justify the cost, after looking at a few different ones, I decided to bite the bullet and get the iSi Town & Country.
One of the reasons was because it's designed by a cyclist, other reasons were because it is angled upwards, this not only gives good clearance, it keeps the bikes high enough to avoid stones etc being thrown up from the wheels. Loading and securing the bikes is a breeze, the bikes are offset to each other, so there is no contact and there is no messing around trying to get them to fit side by side. and it also allowed me to access the rear of the car with the bikes loaded. This thing is extremely well made, it's easily removed from the car when not in use and will last for years.

It's not really about how many times you will use it, it's about how easy it is to use. If it's easy to throw the bikes on and go, you will find you use it a lot more than something you have to struggle with.

Take the time to think about how you will use it and where you will use it, also think about the things that are important to you.

Graeme

Assembly of the ISI was simple, the hardest part of the job was unwrapping the components, George has a bit of a bubble wrap fetish....

Seriously though, the carrier is a work of art, I'd be nervous carrying a couple of bikes on anything much lighter. SWMBO's bike and my 29 er are a bit of a difficult combination but the flexibility of the ISI allowed a good solid fit, without either protruding past the extremeties of the car.

gcouyant wrote:

phild wrote:...

A suggestion, wouldn't hurt to put a contact phone number on your website, often a simple question can be dealt with in less than the time it takes to compose an email. I for one get nervous when I see sellers online wo don't give any contact info.

Sorry mate, I can't explain why you haven't heard back. Pm me your email address and I'll investigate. We do often have typos in the email addresses supplied but it's rare to have that happen twice. We had phone, fax and email on the web site and I had them removed because of all the Chinese suppliers constantly hounding us to manufacture our carriers. They never gave up. It's tough to run a business when you have a hundred other businesses hammering at your door.

Edited at the request of mxchaos: (posts can't be altered without moderator intervention after 24hrs)

Hi George,

Normally I don't like to hijack a thread but I can't PM (presumably because I just signed up).
I too can't get any replies from the web form after 3 days and while I understand the concept - missing phone numbers is relatively critical as IMO most other people aren't as "driven" to find information
I am keen to organise something but am strugglingly to get in contact – can you let me know if you are around?

mxchaos wrote:Hi George,

Normally I don't like to hijack a thread but I can't PM (presumably because I just signed up). Are you still in business?

Your website says you are due back about 2 months ago but I too can't get get any replies from the web form after 3 days and while I understand the concept -

I'm so sorry for the hassle mxchaos. We are so far behind on our enquiries and hey, we got back at the end of July..... Mate pop me an email to gc@isi-carriers.com and remind me that you're mxchaos from BNA and I'll look after you. Happy to have a chat too.

Hi guys,
my wife has a small Toyota Echo (with an awesome dark pink! NOT!) she wants to buy a bike rack for such a small car, to
carry max 2 bikes of roughly 13kg each - what do you guys recommend to buy? Can you post some links or pages where to
find some reliable info?

Thanks guys!

fassyrider wrote:Hi guys,
my wife has a small Toyota Echo (with an awesome dark pink! NOT!) she wants to buy a bike rack for such a small car, to
carry max 2 bikes of roughly 13kg each - what do you guys recommend to buy? Can you post some links or pages where to
find some reliable info?

Thanks guys!

Fassyrider I can help out with a couple of options to suit the Echo - regardless of the colour

Rear Mounts - tow bar.

With the Echo, you need to be able to have access to the rear of the car and because it's a fairly narrow vehicle it is desirable to keep the load as narrow as possible. Be mindful of having to offset one bike to the left and the other to the right in order to make them fit.

A couple of examples of our carriers:


The Compact Extreme Duty two bike carrier. http://www.isi-carriers.com/customers/m ... -rack.html

or


The Town and Country two bike carrier. http://www.isi-carriers.com/customers/s ... -rack.html


Both of these carriers pivot down to give your wife easy access to the rear of the car and the ability to load and unload the bikes in seconds.

I'm over roof mounts though so I can't help there I'm sorry.

If you would like any assistance from us fassyrider please do let us know that you are from BNA and the enquiry will come directly to me. That said, if I've done anything to upset our wonderful and beautiful admin lady then you'll have a response straight away....

Thanks Gcouyant! I will certainly have a look at it. If you have any more options available please do let me know, CHeers

I recently purchased the 2 bike Thule EuroRide 941. Was a tough decision between this and the iSi Town & Country but preferred the light board / number plate setup on the Thule. Only used it once and so far so good.
CJ

Thanks cjrich, could you please post the link to the product you mention? THANKS

fassyrider wrote:Thanks cjrich, could you please post the link to the product you mention? THANKS

Just google the model I mentioned, and if you cant find it PM me. I feel I'm stepping on George's toes a bit, the iSi is obvoiusly a very good product but this Thule was exactly what I was after. sorry George.

CJ

cjrich wrote:Just google the model I mentioned, and if you cant find it PM me. I feel I'm stepping on George's toes a bit, the iSi is obvoiusly a very good product but this Thule was exactly what I was after. sorry George.

CJ

Hey CJ no problem mate. I very much appreciate your courtesy CJ but heck, this thread is all about assisting cyclists and that's a lofty and worthy cause There are so many products out there on the market today and it can be confusing for many.

The thing is that in this business, regardless of the commercial consequences, it's always awesome to deal with fellow cyclists on a daily basis. Better still, those who are embarking upon big adventure are excellent sources of inspiration for our future trips. I do have to say though that our carriers do deliver benefits that are not available on the 941 or indeed any other product that I am aware of.... I am also mindful that it is a privilege for a business like us to be involved in a public forum and ever cautious of being over enthusiastic.....

Seriously CJ, help fassyrider make an informed decision mate. That's what this forum is all about.

mxchaos wrote:Edited at the request of mxchaos: (posts can't be altered without moderator intervention after 24hrs)

Thanks for that Wayne and Admin. Appreciate it.

Thank you also Wayne for the purchase mate - and glad that we sorted it out.

When travelling through country towns it's good to stop and ride one street over off the main drag to not only stretch the legs but to get a good look at the real town and not just what's along the main street. The thing is that local residents see you on bikes and are happy to engage with you and share information on the good sites around the town. You'll find that because loading and unloading the bikes is so quick and hassle free, you will look forward to opportunities to stop and ride. I do trust that the carrier will facilitate a life time of adventure travel for you and the family.

Hi guys I am trying to get in touch with ISI and have sent a couple of emails but have not heard back, does any body know of any contact details

Ricos wrote:Hi guys I am trying to get in touch with ISI and have sent a couple of emails but have not heard back, does any body know of any contact details

Hi Ricos,

I'm here and enquiries that include a mention of the BNA forum come directly to me. I just checked the business email for recent enquiries and the only outstanding enquiry was from late Friday and again on Saturday. Ricos, I don't mean to be rude mate, but we shut the factory on a Friday afternoon for a ride and there is no way we work on a weekend when the weather looks favourable.

Happy to help and sorry for any hassle, but your enquiry will be answered in detail on Monday.

Regardless of which rack you go for make sure you don't get one of those which hangs the bike from the top tube!

Damages the bikes and bloody painful to strap them up so they don't sway in the wind. Takes far too long to load and unload!

gcouyant wrote:

Ricos wrote:Hi guys I am trying to get in touch with ISI and have sent a couple of emails but have not heard back, does any body know of any contact details

Hi Ricos,

I'm here and enquiries that include a mention of the BNA forum come directly to me. I just checked the business email for recent enquiries and the only outstanding enquiry was from late Friday and again on Saturday. Ricos, I don't mean to be rude mate, but we shut the factory on a Friday afternoon for a ride and there is no way we work on a weekend when the weather looks favourable.

Happy to help and sorry for any hassle, but your enquiry will be answered in detail on Monday.

Hey George,
I know this is an old string but I am having a lot of trouble reaching you through your website. Do you still monitor this forum?
Cheers, Ads